Coin freed apparatus for discharging measured quantities of liquid



Oct. 23, 1934. I J. B. BENAIGES 1,977,606

COIN FREED APPARATUS FOR DISGHARGING- MEASURED QUANTITIES OF LIQUID Filed Nov. 3, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 23, 1934. J B, BENMGEIS I 1,977,606

COIN FREED APPARATUS FOR DISCHARGING MEASURED QUANTITIES OF LIQUID Filed NOV. 5, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l 'ateiitecl Oct. 23, 1934 UNITED STATES COIN FREED APPARATUS FOR DISCHARG- lNG MEASURED QUANTITIES OF LIQUID Jos Boronat Benaiges, Villanueva y Geltm Barcelona, Spain,

assignor of one-half to Isidro Roset Boos, Villanueva y Geltru Barcelona, Spain Application November 3, 1932, Serial No. 640,950 In Spain November 10, 1931 3Claims.

Application was filed in Spain on the th of November, 1931.

The present invention relates to a coin freed apparatus for the discharge of measured quantitles of liquid or so-called pro-payment meters for liquids. 7

One of the essential features of the invention is the fact that the apparatus is worked by the circulation of the liquid passing therethrough. Another feature of the improved apparatus is the fact that it is practically proof against fraudulent use, tampering with the apparatus being practically impossible.

The accompanying drawings show by way of example one construction embodying the features of the invention.

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the apparatus with the front cover removed, some of the parts being omitted.

Fig. 2 is a plan, Fig. 3 is a cross section, Fig. 4 is a sectional elevationof one the apparatus,

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the counting mechanism and Fig. 6 shows in plan and drawn to a larger scale a member of a valve operating device.

The apparatus comprises a hydraulic motor 1 which is driven by the liquid passing through the apparatus. This motor may be of any known or suitable type, for instance a motor of the type used in liquid motors now generally in use. The motor drives by shaft 2 and gearing 3, 4, 5 a horizontal gear wheel 5 which latter carries upon its upper face a disc 6. This disc 6 is fixedly secured to the gear 5' and, as shown in Fig. 6, is provided with a spiral groove or channel 7 of equal depth and is formed near its central part with a recess or depression 8 of greater depth than the spiral groove. The depression or recess 8 merges into the spiral groove gradually by an inclined portion 9, whilst the end of the groove is continued so as to form a step projecting vertically from the depression or recess 8. The object of this construction will hereinafter be explained.

The gear 5' and the disc 6 carried thereby rest by means of anti-friction rollers 11 upon a fixed plate 12 forming part of the frame of the apparatus. The gear 5' and the disc 6 are loosely -mounted on a vertical spindle 13 which is vertically movable and is provided at its upper end with a horizontal arm 14' upon which is rotatably mounted a roller 15 of spherical shape, as shown 5 in Figs. 1 and 4. The roller is freely rotatable half of vmesh with anotherbevel wheel 20 (Figs. 3 and rotation, it nevertheless remains in the path of on the arm 14 and can also'axially slide thereon. The roller 15 engages with its edge portion in the normal position of the'apparatus, that is, when the meter is closed, the bottom of the recess 8. By rotation of the shafts 13, 14, the roller 15 is moved from the depression 8 over the inclined portion 9 into the spiral groove 7, and then along the groove. The movement of the roller 15 .from the depression 8 over the incline 9 into the groove 05 7 on rotation of the shaft 13, 14 is facilitated or insured by the spherical shape of the roller, the spherical portion of the roller contacting with the inner peripheral edge of the step 10 and guid ing the roller from the depression 8 into the groove over the incline 9.

Upon the lower portion of the shaft 13 is fixedly mounted a gear 16 which meshes with a pinion 17, the latter being fixed upon a shaft 18 carrying a bevel wheel 19. The bevel wheel 19 is in 4), the bevel gear 20 being mounted upon a shaft 21 which projects from the front wall 22 of the apparatus and carries an operating knob 23. An upwardly extending portion of the shaft 18 carries fixed thereto a disc 24, which, as shown so in Figs. 1 and 2,-has a stepped portion 25 extending over one half of the disc. Upon this stepped portion 25 rests normally the end of a double-armed lever 26 (Fig.1), which is pivoted at 27 and is provided at the other end with a head 28 adapted to receive and laterally hold a coin dropped into the apparatus in a manner hereinafter to be described. When a coin drops into the head 28, the lever 26 is slightly turned by the weight of the coin against the action of a spring 29. This turning of the lever 26 by the inserted coin raises somewhat the left hand end of the lever, but only to such an extent that while the lever 26 no longer locks the disc 24 against the left hand, that is, the higher portion of the disc, so that upon rotation of the disc 24, the left hand portion of the lever 26 will be further raised and the right hand portion of the disc will be further lowered. When the lever 26 is turned by the coin dropped into the head 28, the coin remains in the head 28, being held and prevented from dropping out of the head by the stop 31. Only when the lever 26 is further turned by the rotation of the disc 24, the right hand end of the lever 26 and the head 28 are so lowered as to allow the coin to drop out of the head and over a suitable chute into the coin receptacle 30.

The shaft 13 receives on being rotated a vertical movement within the fixed plate 12 owing to the fact that the roller 15 is during rotation of the shaft 13 moved from the depression 8 over the incline 9 into the spiral groove 7 which is at a higher level. When the shaft 13 is raised, its upper end acts upon a valve 33 and raises this valve against the action of a spring 32. The valve 33 controls the passage of the liquid through a pipe 34. This pipe 34 communicates over the valve 33 with the discharge pipe 35 of the apparatus and is at the other end connected with the delivery end of the hydraulic motor 1.

The coin receiving device comprises an inlet 36 provided in the upper part of the casing (Fig. 1), through which the coin is inserted by hand edgewise. A slide 36' of cylindrical shape is arranged in the casing below the inlet 36 and can be pushed inwards by means of the knob 37 against the action of a spring 38 so as to bring a slot 39 of the slide into alignment with the inlet 36. In this position of the slide 36 the coin will drop into the slide and upon release of the knob 37 the spring 38 moves the slide outwards so as to bring the slot 39 of the slide into alignment with the head 28, whereupon the coin will drop out of the slot 39 through the slide into the head 28. This arrangement makes any fraud almost impossible. The slide prevents the lever 28 being operated direct from the outside. If a coin of a smaller weight than that for which the apparatus is designed is used, the weight will not be sufllcient to give the lever 26 the initial movement required and consequently the disc 24 will remain locked and the apparatus will not work. If the weight of the coin used is greater than it should be, the lever 26 will be turned to an excessive extent and the coin will consequently not be held by the stop 31, but will drop immediately out of the head 28 into the receptacle 30, whereupon the lever 26 will be immediately restored to its normal position by the spring 29 and no time will be left for the manual operation of the disc 24.

It will be understood, however, that any other device for inserting the coin may be used.

The apparatus is preferably provided with a coin counting device 40, indicated in Figs. 2 and 5, which records the number of coins introduced into the apparatus, and if desired also the quantity of liquid passing through the apparatus. A liquid meter independent of the coin counting device may also be provided and may be operated from the motor 1, for which purpose the shaft 2 carries an additional bevel gear 4'.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-

The meter is installed by connecting same to a liquid admission pipe at 42 and if necessary fitting to the apparatus a liquid discharge pipe at 35. In the normal position of the apparatus, the valve 33 is closed, and the shafts 13, 14 are in such a position that the spherical roller 15 carried by the shaft 14 bears upon the depression or recess 8 of the disc 6. This position is shown in the drawings. Upon a coin being introduced into the apparatus in the manner previously described, the coin drops into the head 28 of the lever 26, and the lever 28 is given an initial turn by which the left end of the lever is raised, but not completely. from the step 25 so that it no longer locks the disc 24. At the same time the right hand end of the head 28 is lowered, but not sufficiently to allow the coin to drop, the coin being after this initial turn of the lever 26 still held by the stop 31. The knob 23 is now tumedby hand and the shaft 18 is rotated, whereby the disc 24 is also rotated. This rotation of the disc 24 further raises the left hand end of the lever 26, the edge of the raised portion of the disc 24 acting as a cam uponthe lower edge of the left hand portion of the lever 26. This additional turn of the lever 26 further lowers the head 28 to such an extent as to allow the coin carried within the head 28 to clear the stop 31 and drop into the receptacle 30. On further rotation of the cam disc 24, the lefthand end of the lever 26 will, under the action of the spring 29, first rest upon the raised portion of the disc 24 and when the disc 24 has-been moved one full revolution, it will again be locked by the lever 26. The parts 26 and 24, 25 then resume the position shown in Fig. 1, and it is therefore impossible to turn the shaft 18 after it has been released by more than one revolution.

It will therefore be seen that by the insertion of a coin, the shaft 18'will be unlocked, but can be turned only through one full revolution, whereupon it is again locked by the lever 26. The complete revolution of the shaft 18 is transmitted by a gear 17, 16 to the shaft 13, and it may be pointed out that the angle through which the shaft 13 will be turned will depend upon the transmission ratio between the gears 17 and 16. As in the construction shown the gear 16 is of a larger diameter than the gear 17, the shaft 13 will be turned only through a fraction of a revolution. Together with the shaft 13 will be turned the horizontal shaft 14 carrying the spherical roller 15 and consequently the roller which at the beginning of the operation was resting upon the bottom of the recess 8 will be raised by the inclined cam surface 9 and will be led into the spiral groove '7 of the disc 6 and will travel in this groove 7 a certain distance depending on the angle through which the shaft 13 has been turned. In passing from the bottom of the recess 8 into the spiral groove 7, the roller 15 is raised by the inclined cam surface 9 and during this ascending movement of the roller 15, the top end of the shaft 13 acts upon the lower end of the spindle 32 of the valve 33 and lifts the spindle 32 from its seat against the action of a spring which normally holds the .valve in the closed position. When the valve is open a certain amount of liquid will pass through the meter and be discharged at 35 or a pipe attached to 35, whereupon the valve 33 will be automatically closed in the following manner.

The liquid being discharged passes through the motor 1 and drives same. The movement of the motor is transmitted through the transmission gear previously described to the disc 6 in.

such a manner as to rotate the disc in the same direction in which the shaft 13 carrying the shaft 14 was previously rotated. During this rotation of the disc 6, the shaft 13 stands still and consequently the roller 15 travels back along the path previously travelled until it leaves the spiral groove '1. On leaving the spiral groove "I, the roller 15 travels further upon the step 10 and then clears the step 10 and suddenly drops into the recess 8. By this sudden dropping of theroller 15 from the step 10 into the recess 8, the shaft 13 is lowered and the valve 33 is automatically closed by the spring acting thereon. This closes simultaneously the passage of the liquid, for instance water, through the apparatus.

It is possible with this apparatus, after one coin has been introduced and the shaft 18 has beenturned by hand one revolution and the valve 33 has been opened in the manner previously described to insert further coins, before waiting for the automatic closing of the valve by the discharge of the liquid. If for this purpose, a second coin is introduced immediately or soon after, the shaft 18 has been turned by means of the knob 23, then the same operation will be repeated as before, namely the disc 24 will be unlocked by an initial turning of the lever 26 and the shaft 18 will again be turned by hand one revolution and will be looked after one revolution by the lever 26. The only difference will be the fact that when during further revolutions of the shaft 18 by hand, which have been made possible by the insertion of further coins, the shaft 13 is turned through the transmission gearing 16, 1'7, the roller 15 will not be lifted, but will merely travel farther in spiral groove '7. Consequently, if several coins are introduced and the knob turned each time after the insertion of a coin, the roller 15 will receive a proportionately greater angular movement and consequently a proportionately greater amount of liquid will pass out of the apparatus before the rotation of the motor will, by turning the disc 6, return the roller 15 into the recess 8 and thus close the valve.

It will be understood that the described prepayment meter for liquids, may be used for any kind of liquid. Details of construction may be varied within the scope of the invention.

It may also be pointed out that existing meters for liquid can be easily re-constructed for carrying out the present invention. For instance, motors and other parts of existing liquid meters may be readily used for carrying out the invention.

We claim:

1. In a pre-payment metenfor liquids, the subcombination of: a conduit for the liquid; a valve controlling the passage of the liquid through said conduit; manually operable means for opening said valve, said manually operable means comprising: a vertically movable shaft adapted to operate said valve by its up and down move- 2. In a pre-payment meter for liquids, the subcombination of a conduit for the liquid; a valve controlling the passage of the liquid through said conduit; manually operable means for opening said valve, said manually operable means comprising: a vertically movable shaft adapted to operate said valve by its up and down movement, said shaft having an arm; a roller rotatably and slidably carried upon said arm; a. disc supporting said roller, said disc having a spiral groove. and a recess of greater depth than the spiral groove so that when the roller is in the recess of the disc the shaft carrying same in lowered and the valve closed, whilst when the roller runs within the spiral groove, the shaft carrying the roller is raised and the valve maintained in its open position; and hand-operated means for rotating said vertically movable shaft; said disc having an inclined cam surface between the recess and the spiral groove over which inclined surface the roller travels, whereby a gradual opening of the valve is effected; said disc also having a step adjoining the inclined cam surface over which step the roller passes on issuing from the spiral groove; said roller having a spherical shape for the purpose of guiding the roller on to the inclined cam surface, substantially as described.

3. In a pre-payment meter for liquids, the subcombination of a conduit for the liquid; a valve controlling the passage of the liquid through said conduit; manually operable means for opening said valve, said manually operable means comprising: a vertically movable shaft adapted to operate said valve by its up and down movement,

, said shaft having an arm; a roller rotatably and slidably carried upon said arm; a disc supporting said roller, said disc having a spiral groove and a recess of greater depth than the spiral groove so that when the roller is in the recess of the disc the shaft carrying same is lowered and the valve closed, whilst when the roller runs within the spiral groove, the shaft carrying the roller is raised and the valve maintained in its open position; hand-operated means for rotating said vertically movable shaft; a hydraulic" motor' transmission gearing between said hydraulic motor and said disc, for rotating the disc in the same direction in which the vertically movable shaft is rotated by hand, during the discharge of the liquid, substantially as described.

JOSE BORONAT BENAIGES.

12o, driven by the liquid being discharged, and 5a, 

